Eastern Michigan Athletics
Saturday, November 18
Louisville, Ky.
9 a.m.
Eastern Michigan University
at
NCAA Championships
Women's Cross Country Finishes 27th at NCAA Championship
11/18/2017 12:02:00 PM | Women's XC
EMU finished two runners within the top-150
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (EMUEagles.com) - The No. 27 Eastern Michigan University women's cross country team ran to a 27th-place finish at the NCAA Championships, Saturday, Nov. 18, in Louisville, Ky. The squad posted a team score of 603 points in just their third ever National Championship race.
"We're disappointed with our finish but I couldn't be more proud of the fight that the girls showed throughout the season to get to this point," said Head Coach Sue Parks. "We dealt with a number of setbacks this fall and you simply can't compete at a high level in this meet when you're not at the top of your game. But we're proud of our season and we were thrilled to represent Eastern Michigan on the national stage for the second straight year."
Senior Jordann McDermitt (Davison, Mich.-Davison) ended her cross country career at EMU in a familiar style, leading the Green and White with a team-best finish, crossing the line in 20:32.8 to finish 78th. McDermitt finished at the top of EMU harriers for every meet except one this season, and capped off her incredible career with her third First Team All-MAC honors and second Great Lakes All-Region honors, ultimately helping her team qualify for the NCAA Championship race.
Behind McDermitt was redshirt senior Alsu Bogdanova (Kazan, Russia-Lyceum #83), who cracked the top-150 with a 128th-place finish. Her final time of 20:56.9 was the second-best on the Green and White, bringing an impressive end to her incredible career. Much like McDermitt, Bogdanova closed her career with First Team All-MAC and all-region honors before competing in her second consecutive NCAA Championship.
As the third EMU harrier to cross the finish line, redshirt junior Natalie Cizmas (Clinton Twp., Mich.-Chippewa Valley) put together a strong performance, placing 151st in 21:05.0. Finishing close behind Cizmas was junior Sydney Meyers (Zionsville, Ind.-Zionsville Community), who nabbed 161st in 21:11.4. Senior Jenna Wyns (Londerzeel, Belgium-Sportschool KA2) is also a member of the incredible group of seniors to finish off their EMU cross country careers in the National Championship, finishing 238th with a time of 22:14.6.
Rounding out the Eastern runners were redshirt senior Anna Aldrich (Fremont, Ind.-Fremont), and redshirt junior Allie Knoll (Warren, Mich.-Warren Mott), finishing 241st and 246th, in 22:23.2 and 22:48.1, respectively.
This marks the end of an incredible season for the Eagles. Behind Parks, who earned her fourth MAC Coach of the Year award, the Eagles began the postseason with their third straight MAC Championship before performing hard at the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals, as two student-athletes earned all-region honors to help the squad place fourth in the tough regional competition. EMU's overall impressive regular season, mixed with its strong showing in its postseason races, warranted the program's third berth and second straight trip to the NCAA Championship. Eastern will look to continue its incredible success in recent memory next year, although we say goodbye to a historically talented senior class comprised of Aldrich, Bogdanova, McDermitt, Claire Mesa (Rockford, Ill.-Rockford Lutheran), Lauren Pottschmidt (Granger, Ind.-Penn), and Wyns.
Team Results (6K)
1. New Mexico 90
2. San Francisco 105
3. Colorado 139
4. Stanford 165
5. Oregon 203
6. Boise State 264
7. Furman 271
8. NC State 280
9. Michigan 295
10. Wisconsin 318
11. BYU 342
12. Villanova 346
13. Arkansas 377
14. Utah St. 395
15. Michigan St. 395
16. Providence 400
17. Georgia 411
18. Penn State 443
19. Minnesota 488
20. Iowa St. 508
21. Washington 513
22. California 530
23. E. Kentucky 537
24. Indiana 562
25. Ole Miss 571
26. Syracuse 582
27. E. Michigan 603
28. Columbia 672
29. Dartmouth 745
30. Oklahoma St. 748
31. Texas 788
Individual Results
78. Jordann McDermitt 20:32.8
128. Alsu Bogdanova 20:56.9
151. Natalie Cizmas 21:05.0
161. Sydney Meyers 21:11.4
238. Jenna Wyns 22:14.6
241. Anna Aldrich 22:23.2
246. Allie Knoll 22:48.1
"We're disappointed with our finish but I couldn't be more proud of the fight that the girls showed throughout the season to get to this point," said Head Coach Sue Parks. "We dealt with a number of setbacks this fall and you simply can't compete at a high level in this meet when you're not at the top of your game. But we're proud of our season and we were thrilled to represent Eastern Michigan on the national stage for the second straight year."
Senior Jordann McDermitt (Davison, Mich.-Davison) ended her cross country career at EMU in a familiar style, leading the Green and White with a team-best finish, crossing the line in 20:32.8 to finish 78th. McDermitt finished at the top of EMU harriers for every meet except one this season, and capped off her incredible career with her third First Team All-MAC honors and second Great Lakes All-Region honors, ultimately helping her team qualify for the NCAA Championship race.
Behind McDermitt was redshirt senior Alsu Bogdanova (Kazan, Russia-Lyceum #83), who cracked the top-150 with a 128th-place finish. Her final time of 20:56.9 was the second-best on the Green and White, bringing an impressive end to her incredible career. Much like McDermitt, Bogdanova closed her career with First Team All-MAC and all-region honors before competing in her second consecutive NCAA Championship.
As the third EMU harrier to cross the finish line, redshirt junior Natalie Cizmas (Clinton Twp., Mich.-Chippewa Valley) put together a strong performance, placing 151st in 21:05.0. Finishing close behind Cizmas was junior Sydney Meyers (Zionsville, Ind.-Zionsville Community), who nabbed 161st in 21:11.4. Senior Jenna Wyns (Londerzeel, Belgium-Sportschool KA2) is also a member of the incredible group of seniors to finish off their EMU cross country careers in the National Championship, finishing 238th with a time of 22:14.6.
Rounding out the Eastern runners were redshirt senior Anna Aldrich (Fremont, Ind.-Fremont), and redshirt junior Allie Knoll (Warren, Mich.-Warren Mott), finishing 241st and 246th, in 22:23.2 and 22:48.1, respectively.
This marks the end of an incredible season for the Eagles. Behind Parks, who earned her fourth MAC Coach of the Year award, the Eagles began the postseason with their third straight MAC Championship before performing hard at the NCAA Great Lakes Regionals, as two student-athletes earned all-region honors to help the squad place fourth in the tough regional competition. EMU's overall impressive regular season, mixed with its strong showing in its postseason races, warranted the program's third berth and second straight trip to the NCAA Championship. Eastern will look to continue its incredible success in recent memory next year, although we say goodbye to a historically talented senior class comprised of Aldrich, Bogdanova, McDermitt, Claire Mesa (Rockford, Ill.-Rockford Lutheran), Lauren Pottschmidt (Granger, Ind.-Penn), and Wyns.
Team Results (6K)
1. New Mexico 90
2. San Francisco 105
3. Colorado 139
4. Stanford 165
5. Oregon 203
6. Boise State 264
7. Furman 271
8. NC State 280
9. Michigan 295
10. Wisconsin 318
11. BYU 342
12. Villanova 346
13. Arkansas 377
14. Utah St. 395
15. Michigan St. 395
16. Providence 400
17. Georgia 411
18. Penn State 443
19. Minnesota 488
20. Iowa St. 508
21. Washington 513
22. California 530
23. E. Kentucky 537
24. Indiana 562
25. Ole Miss 571
26. Syracuse 582
27. E. Michigan 603
28. Columbia 672
29. Dartmouth 745
30. Oklahoma St. 748
31. Texas 788
Individual Results
78. Jordann McDermitt 20:32.8
128. Alsu Bogdanova 20:56.9
151. Natalie Cizmas 21:05.0
161. Sydney Meyers 21:11.4
238. Jenna Wyns 22:14.6
241. Anna Aldrich 22:23.2
246. Allie Knoll 22:48.1
Players Mentioned
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
/ Women's XC
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